Lizzie Borden Took an Ax

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Based on the true story of Lizzie Borden, a Sunday School teacher who lived with her father Andrew, her stepmother Abby, and her older sister Emma in a small house in Fall River, Massachusetts, the film depicts a hot summer day in August 1892 in the Borden home where Lizzie comes across the grisly murder scene of her father who was brutally killed with a hatchet. After local law enforcement responds to the scene, the body of Abby Borden is discovered upstairs, also killed with an ax. As the case progresses, the evidence gathered by the authorities seems to point to Lizzie as their prime suspect. Lizzie’s lawyer Andrew Jennings, however, maintains that a woman could not commit such a cruel act; arguing it is far too gruesome a crime for any woman to commit. Regardless, Lizzie is put on trial for the murders and the courtroom case makes headlines in newspapers throughout the country. Newspaper accounts state the crime to be the most infamous of the century.

REVIEW:

One hears about urban legends, hauntings, and places to not visit, unless you’re in for a good scare. The Lizzie Borden House in Massachusetts is one such place because Lizzie’s ghost still haunts there, if I’m remembering what I heard, correctly. As far as I know I have no plans of traveling up north, but if I do, I want to visit and see if the legends are true. In the meantime, how about we check out made for TV movie, Lizzie Borden Took an Ax.

What is this about?

In 19th-century tabloid journalism, few stories sold better than that of Lizzie Borden, who was tried in 1892 for axing her parents to death. This made-for-TV drama chronicles the scandal and enduring mystery of Lizzie’s guilt or innocence.

What did I like?

Setting. It seems as though everytime there is a film set in the 1800s, with the exception of westerns, they are dark, dingy, and eerie. One would think that would be the plan with this film, but surprisingly the few scenes we see of the town are reminiscent of something like Little House on the Prairie. Perhaps the lighter look outside was done for a reason. I do not know, but it works for me.

Sister. Not much is known about Lizzie Borden’s sister, in comparison to her fame, obviously. Clea Duvall does a masterful job of bringing this mysterious woman to life, introducing her to audiences that know little to nothing about her. The compassion she shows for Lizzie, despite her apparent suspicion, is something that breaks your heart, especially when you watch her lie under oath in court and then later Lizzie tells her what happened (according to the film).

Intense courtroom drama. Those of you that love those courtroom dramas will love the courtroom scenes in this film. Not only do they show the intensity that the prosecutor was showing as he was making his case to convict Lizzie, but the drama and suspense, even though we all know the verdict, is one of the best parts of the film. No wonder they spend a good portion of the film there, huh?

What didn’t I like?

Who is Lizzie? You know, for a movie about Lizzie Borden, we sure don’t get much of a feel for her. What I mean to say by that is her character is never developed as anything more than a murder suspect. Sure, they say she’s a Sunday school teacher, and show her stealing a mirror from the dress shop, but that is hardly enough to give us some insight into who this lady was. Who had the brilliant idea to not develop the star of the film?!?

For those about to rock. I think this film was trying too hard to be hip and current while trying to stay in its time. The prime example of this is the rock and roll soundtrack. Now, it isn’t hardcore metal that is playing, just some rock that plays between scenes. Much like Django Unchained randomly put a rap song in a scene where it especially didn’t fit, the rock was just out of place. The music itself wasn’t bad, just didn’t work for this film. The Irish jig music, or whatever that was, that was reminiscent of the score to Sherlock Holmes worked much better. They should have just stuck with that, if you ask me.

Age appropriate. It isn’t said how old Lizzie or her sister are at the time, but they make it seem as if they are perhaps early to mid twenties. If that is the case, then the actresses that were cast are not age appropriate. Clea DuVall is nearly 40 and Christina Ricci is about my age (30+), give or take a couple of years. Now, we’ve seen TV show and movies over and over again that have stars that are nowhere near the age of the character they are playing, but I feel as if with something like this, though, they should have gotten someone closer to the real age. Then again, if you look at the cast, it is obvious that Christina Ricci was brought in to be the “name” actress.

If you are looking for a historically accurate film, then Lizzie Borden Took an Ax is not the version of this story that you should watching. However, I have to give kudos to the Lifetime network for creating yet another film that isn’t some depressing female centric schlock that the network is known for.  Unfortunately, this still looks like a TV movie, the acting is quite wooden, and the so many details of the murder are skipped over and/or omitted that it makes it hard to enjoy. Do I recommend this? No, but it isn’t one of those films that I think you should stay away from. Given the chance when you’re flipping through channels and happen to catch it, perhaps it would be worth a shot, but otherwise, this is just a subpar outing that really should have been much better.

3 out of 5 stars